$23 billion "lost" in Iraq

(Photo of contractor's tents in Iraq by Mother Jones)

We've known for a long time that corruption was running rampant among contractors hired to work in Iraq. We just didn't know the extent and scope of the problem. That is still the case, but more of the nasty truth is coming to light.

An article by Jane Corbin of BBC News, notes that "A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn ... may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq."

Using Iraqi and US government sources, BBC has sought to determine "how much some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding."

War profiteering is a profitable business. Some pundits have suggested that Mr. Bush and the neocons deliberately set about a policy of constant war to better feed, not just the voracious appetite of Pentagon warmongers, but also the hungry maws of their friendly contractors. Those who actually fight and die in the wars devised by the desk-bound neocons don't make out very well, but your friendly corporate contractor does just fine, thank you!

BBC says there are 70 court cases against some of the top US companies for war profiteering. However, "A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations." BBC also suggests it is unlikely that the gag order will be lifted so long as Mr. Bush is president, the implication being he will do all he can to protect his friends.

And who are his friends? Well, one of them is Dick Cheney, who ran Halliburton before his demotion to Vice President. So, it isn't surprising that "In the run-up to the invasion, one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially word $7bn that was given to Halliburton ...

"Unusually only Halliburton got to bid - and won." Really?


The chairman of the House committee on oversight and government reform, Henry Waxman, said that "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, it's egregious.

"It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."

But the Bushites don't want you to know or discuss it!


In a related article, BBC says that "An audit of some $8bn ... paid to US and Iraqi contractors has found that almost every payment failed to comply with US laws aimed at preventing fraud."

And this is just one example. Democrats are livid but somewhat hogtied. In one review by the Defense Department's Inspector General, it was estimated "that the US Army made more than 180,000 commerical payments from bases in Iraq, Egypt and Kuwait from 2001 to 2006. These payments amount to $8bn of US taypayer dollars for "goods and services ranging from bottled water, mattresses and food to trucks and phones. ...

"In some cases, contracts worth millions of dollars were paid for in cash with little or no documentation to show what was delivered." Cash????

To sum up, the record-keeping was so sloppy that there is simply no way to determine how much money was stolen or misused. Again, from Henry Waxman: "There is something very wrong when our wounded troops have to fill our forms in triplicate for meal money while billions of dollars are handed out in Iraq with no accountability."


Have you ever noticed that just about everything touched by the Bush administration turns to sand? Does anybody give a damn? Who's in charge?


You can read more here and here and here and a most interesting article here.